Earl Howe

I recognise that the findings of the inquiry’s final report are deeply shocking, and the Government is committed to acting on the findings of the Infected Blood Inquiry.

The Government is considering Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations, and will provide an update to Parliament on the progress we are making to respond to the inquiry’s recommendations by the end of the year, as the inquiry recommends.

I recognise that the findings of the inquiry’s final report are deeply shocking, and the Government is committed to acting on the findings of the Infected Blood Inquiry.

The Government is considering Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations, and will provide an update to Parliament on the progress we are making to respond to the inquiry’s recommendations by the end of the year, as the inquiry recommends.

I recognise that the findings of the inquiry’s final report are deeply shocking, and the Government is committed to acting on the findings of the Infected Blood Inquiry.

The Government is considering Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations, and will provide an update to Parliament on the progress we are making to respond to the inquiry’s recommendations by the end of the year, as the inquiry recommends.

The Government is considering Sir Brian Langstaff’s recommendations, including recommendation 9 that relates to the use of alternatives to plasma-derived medicines. We will provide an update to Parliament on the progress we are making by the end of the year, as the Inquiry recommends.

In April 2021, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) reviewed the latest scientific evidence available on the safety of donor plasma from the United Kingdom and was able to lift the ban on its use for immunoglobulin-based medicines; the ban had been in place since the mid-1990s due to concerns about over the potential spread of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob (vCJD) disease. This was followed by a review of and lifting of the ban on albumins, also derived from UK donor plasma.

Both immunoglobulin and albumin are critical medicines for the National Health Service, with approximately 17,000 patients in England relying on immunoglobulins each year but these products are in short supply globally. Following the MHRA view that UK plasma is safe, the Department set up the Plasma for Medicines programme to increase our self-sufficiency and to protect vulnerable patients from the risk of global supply shocks. The first UK donor plasma was shipped for manufacture into medicines in August 2024 and these will be available to NHS patients from January 2025.